14:51, 29 August 2018

ECtHR awards 20,000 euros to relatives of disappeared Dagestani resident

Tram stop in front of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, July 26, 2013. Photo: REUTERS / Vincent Kessler

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has awarded the compensation of 20,000 euros to family members of Amirkhan Alikhanov, a resident of Dagestan, kidnapped in December 2004.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Amirkhan Alikhanov disappeared on December 23, 2004. His brothers appealed to the law enforcement bodies, where they were informed that Amirkhan was kept by the FSB.

According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in January 2006, relatives got a certificate of the Amirkhan Alikhanov's death. The document states the man died in Zamai-Yurt on December 23, 2004. The man's relatives had succeeded in seeking for institution of a criminal case on the Amirkhan Alikhanov's disappearance, but no suspects were found in the case, the "Medzizona" reports.

In April 2005, the family members of Amirkhan Alikhanov were informed that bodies of six shelled people were found near the village of Zamai-Yurt in Chechnya. Three days after the incident, a story about the liquidation of the militants' base was broadcasted by all central TV channels. According to investigators, in late January of 2010, law enforcers carried out exhumation of the bodies and took materials for genetic analysis.

The ECtHR came to the conclusion that with regard to Amirkhan Alikhanov, the Russian authorities violated the articles of the European Convention on the Human Right to Life on the prohibition of torture, the right to freedom and personal inviolability, as well as to the effective remedy. The ECtHR awarded the Amirkhan Alikhanov's family members the compensation of 20,000 euros, the "Dagestani Youth" reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 29, 2018 at 10:21 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.